Overhead-line structure for electric railways.



W. S. MURRAY. OVERHEAD LINE STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS. APELIWATLON FILED JUNE 9, 1910.

l,O55," 82, Patented Mar. 11,1913.

2 EHEETS-SHEET 1.

WITNESSES:

3} v I v NTOH My 8.

W. S. MURRAY.

OVERHEAD LINE STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 9,1910.

1,055,782. Patented Mar. 11,1913.

2 BHEETS-SHEET 2.

/ WITNESSES: iNVENTbR m J the messenger cable by means of suitable UNITED sTATEs PATENT o ioE.

' WILLIAM 's. MURRAY, or NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR To WESTINGHOUSE:

ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION or PENNSYLVANIA.

OVERHEAD-LINE STRUCTURE FOR ELECTRIC RAILWAYS.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAMS. lllURRA Y, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Overhead- Line Structuresfor Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electrically operated railways and particularly to overhead structures for use upon curved sections of such railways to supply energy to the propelling motors of the locomotives or other propelling vehicles.

It has become a usual practice to equip electrically operated railways with catenary overhead line structures, particularly when such railways are utilized for heavy traffic and high speed service. It is the ordinary practice,'where single messenger cables and single trolley conductors areutilized, to suspendfthe trolley conductors from messenger cablesby means of suitable vertically disposed' hangers and. to utilize pull-off wires atcur eS, in order "to maintain the tr0lle'y, conduct0rs substantially above the center lines'bf'the tracks, in connection with which theyare used. In certain cases where provision foi h eavy trafiic and high speed service hashe -nnecessary, two parallel conductors hai' le been suspended, one above the other, from a messenger cable, the two being fastened together at frequent intervals by means of suitable clips and the lower cond'uctor, with which the trolley makes direct contact, has been made of steel and the upper conductor of copper, in order to utilize effectively .the betten wearing qualities of steel and the better conductivity of copper. In the case of a straight section'of road equipped with parallel conductors, as above mentioned, it has been found satisfactory to suspend the copper conductor directly from hangers, but, in the case of curves, difficulty hasbeen experienced by reason of the tendmay of the two parallel conductors tobe come distorted from their proper ,re'lativef positions. In practical service, the parallel conductors are subjected to very consider; able te'nsilestrains, and, if pull-otf or lat erally disposed suspension devices are attached directly to the upper conductors, the

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented :Man 11, 1913,

- Application filed June 9, 1910. Serial No. 566,104.

horizontal components of the forces exerted upon the two conductors are such that a considerable lateral displacement from the desired vertical relation will be efi'ected.

It is the object of my invention to sim: plify the suspension-retaining means for parallel trolley conductors at curves and also to so utilize the suspension-retaining means that the two conductors shall always be maintained in the desired relation to each other, the forces being so applied and bal-.

anced that the desired condition is uniformly. maintained. a

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of one of my devices for suspending parallel conductors from a mes senger cable at curves, the two conductors and cable being shown'in section. Fig. 2 is a view similarto Fig. 1 but showing only a portion of the curve hanger andshowing a different relation between the hanger arm and the conductor clip. .Fig. 3 is a view of the parts shown in Fig. 1, at right angles to the said figure. elevation of the clip shown in the preceding figures. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a curved section of a four track railway havmy invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional side i 'ing an overhead structure which embodies mounted insulators 7 for the respective messenger cables 8. From each messenger cable ,is 'suspended a double trolley conductor 9,

the two members 10 and 11 of which are fastened together by clips, 12 some or all of: :which are utilized in connection withmy special hanger rods forsustaining the condoctors in proper relation. uponcurved sections of the railway, the detailsof the curve- 1 to 4, inclusive to which specific reference may now be ha The hanger rod 13, is insustaining devices being illustrated in Figs,

ferent lengths, according to the positions on the curve which they occupy. The upper end of the hanger rod 13 is provided with a suitable messenger cable clamp 14 of usual construction and its body portion is disposed at an angle of approximately forty-five degrees to the vertical; as shown in Fig. 1. The clips 12' for connecting the copper conductor 10 and the steel conductor 11 together in the desired relation are here shown as of U shape and as having inner projections 15 at the upper closed portion which engagesuitable grooves in the copper conductor and as having similar projections 16 at their free ends to engage grooves in the sides of the steel conductor. The two arms of the clip are clamped together by suitable bolts and nuts, in case they are employed solely for spacing the conductors 10 and 11 from each other, but, when used upon curves, the lower end 17 of the inclined hanger rod 13 is bent at such angle to the body portion as to be substantially horizontal and is provided with a shoulder 18 which abuts against one side of the clip, the other end of the horizontal portion 17 being screw-threaded and provided with a nut 19 and a split washer 20 so that the conductors 10 and 11 may be securely clamped to the end of the hanger rod.

In case the tension upon the steel con ductor is the same as that,upon the copper conductor, the horizontal part 17 of the I hanger will be located midway between the two conductors, as indicated in Fig. 1, but, in case the tension upon the steel conductor is greater than that upon the copper con ductor, which is sometimes desirable, the horizontal portion of the hanger will be located nearer to the steel conductor than to the copper conductor, as indicated in Fig. 2.

Obviously, if the tension upon the copper conductor were greater than that upon the steel conductor, the horizontal portion of the hanger rod would be located nearer to the copper conductor, the relation of parts being such that the distance between the point at which the hanger is attached to the clip and the. center of the steel wire. is to the distance between said point and the center of 'the copper wire as the tension upon the copper wire is to the tension upon the steel Wire, in order that the leverage forces may be balanced. v

7 It will be understood from the foregoing description that parallel trolley conductors are suspended from the messenger cable and maintained in proper relation to each other, upon curves, by means of a single set of hanger rods.

I claim as my invention:

1. An overhead curve structure for electric railways, comprising a messenger cable, two paralled conductors connected together by clips and disposed below and at one side of said cable, and inclined hanger rods having their respective ends clamped to the messenger cablejand to the conductor clips between the conductors.

2. A pull-off hanger for curved double trolley conductors, comprising a body portion, a messenger'cable clam-p atone end, a clip for the two trolley conductors and means for fastening the other end of the hanger rod to the clip between the conductors.

3. In an overhead structure for electric I1 railways, a: messenger cable, two conductors disposed one above the other, clips for fastening said conductors in parallel relation and hanger rods clamped at their respective ends to the clips between the conductors and to the messenger cable. 4. A combined hanger and pull-off device for double trolley conductors, comprising a clip for said conductors,-an inclined hanger rod having a messenger cable clamp at one relation, inclined rods of different lengths having their upper-ends clamped to the messenger cable and their lower ends fas tened to said clips at such points between the conductors as to equalize the forces which tend to distort the conductors.

6. In an overhead structure for curved 1 sections of electric railways, the combination with a messenger cable and supports therefor, of two conductors dis osed one above the other at one side of an below the messenger cable, clips for maintaining said conductors in parallel relation, and inclined hanger rods of different lengths interposed ios between the messenger cable and some of said clips, the distances between the lower end of each hanger rod and the respective conductors being in inverse ratio to the tensile strains upon said conductors.

7. A combined pull-off andrhanger for curved double trolley conductors comprising a clip for said conductors, and a rod having a messenger cable clamp at one end and a laterally bent opposite end located between! the conductors and provided with means for locking the clip in position.

8.-A combined pull-off and hanger for trolley conductors comprising a rod having a laterally bent end, devices cooperating Q with said laterally bent end to clamp a trolley conductor directly thereto and a messenger cable clamp cooperating with the opposite end of'said rod.

9. A combined pull-off and hanger for] In testimony whereof, I have hereunto double trolley conductors comprising a rod subscribed my name this 20th day of May having a messenger cable clamp at one end 1910.

and a laterally bentopposite end, and means M. S. MURRAY. :5 coiiperating with said laterally bent end to \Vitnesses:

clamp a deuble trolley conductor directly BENJAMIN I. SPocK,

thereto. M. G. REYNOLDS. 

